Ancient Rituals
by Wolf-Song
Summary: neopets not a crossover, summary in story


Ancient Rituals  
  
This is a fan-fic about neopets, neopia, etc. If you do not understand it, or wish to know what these things are, the web site is: . This is the first in a series of four fan- fictions, the other ones you will not be able to find, they are not posted yet. But at the end of this fan-fic, they will be described to you. Enjoy!  
  
Adaen crawled out of her small tent and began to stuff her sleeping bag into its carrying sack. Working quickly she tied the worn leather bag to her packsack and jerked a copper pot out of the leather tie that held it onto the packsack. Adaen snatched up some coals, and lit them with a spark made from the flint and steel that she always kept handy. Muttering angrily she dumped oatmeal into the pot, and poured a bit of water in with it. While she was waiting for the oatmeal to finish cooking, Adaen packed her tent up, and shoved it deep into the packsack. When she finished eating her scant breakfast Adaen cleaned the pot out with fresh snow and fastened it back onto her packsack, put the fire out, and hefted the heavy packsack up onto her strong back. Setting off at a lope, Adaen was all alone in the frosted world of Terror Mountain.  
  
Adaen continued doggedly on, the only sounds that disturbed the stillness of the mountain were the crunching of snow under her boots, and the clanging of the pots and pans tied to her old packsack. When the sun was at its highest point and she had begun to sweat furiously, Adaen stopped and dropped her heavy packsack onto the cold, snowy ground. Digging around in the smallest pocket of the packsack, Adaen pulled out a granola bar, and a bottle of water. Plopping down onto a drift of white powder Adaen twisted the cap off of the water and took a large swig, then, she ripped the granola bar out of it's wrapper and ate that. Still chewing the last little bite of granola bar, Adaen thrust the wrapper into her packsack, and put the bottle of water into a pocket in her utility belt. Setting of at the same pace she had been traveling by for days, the young blue Aisha came to a fork in the snowy path.  
  
Adaen puzzled over which path to take for quite a while, finally she shrugged and trotted down the left path. Packsack banging painfully against the Aisha's furry back, Adaen continued down the bumpy path, occasionally taking small sips from her water bottle, or looking around at the frosty scenery. Presently, Adaen came to a rocky cave; the grey white stone was rough and uneven. And the pebbly ceiling and walls were cold, and slightly damp. Adaen peered in cautiously and then looked up at the sky, the sun was setting, casting rainbows of light on the white snow. The little light that remained would soon be gone. Unless she wanted to go to bed without supper, Adaen would have to use this cave for the night.  
  
Steeling herself, Adaen took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then before she could think up another reson not to enter the dark, shadowy cave, she stepped into it. The minute she entered the cave, stillness as thick and syrupy as molasses descended upon Adaen. The only sound that penetrated it was a soft, whisper-like chant that seemed almost silent, and sounded more like a soft, summery breeze than words. Nervously Adaen stepped deeper into the silence, feeling it press against her sensitive aisha ears, and she winced as she sent a loose pebble rolling across the sloping floor, breaking the spell. The soft chanting stopped abruptly, and the Aisha could here paws shuffling slowly over the rough floor of the cave. Adaen pressed against a wide hollow in the cave wall as the shuffling drew closer. Terrified the young neopet's mind raced as she tried desperately to decide what to do.  
  
Biting her lip until she tasted blood, Adaen waited until the thing came into view. Only then did she realize that she had been holding her breath, and she let it out. The 'thing' was an old JubJub, he wore a long, flowing cloak, fastened around the waist with a section of frayed rope. He carried a tall, gnarled, wooden staff on his left, and her seemed to walk slowly, with a slight limp. The cloak was of thick, dull, greenish-grey fabric, with a large hood on the back, and loose sleeves. He peered around, squinting, and then began to slowly shuffle back into the depths of the cave. "Wait!" Adaen called, as she stepped away from the wall, "wait up," she called again, as she ran to catch up with him. He squinted up at her, and slowly a smile crept across his tired face, "hello child," he said warmly, "come in, I've been waiting."  
  
Adaen stole a quick glance outside and shrugged. Trotting after the JubJub she was completely unaware of the fate that awaited her.  
  
As the two neopet's neared the back of the cave, Adaen suddenly noticed that the heavy silence was gone. She shrugged and then jogged ahead to catch up with the old JubJub. When they came to another, smaller room, the JubJub stepped in, and motioned for Adaen to do the same. She stepped in after the JubJub and blinked. The room was lit by a pale, cream coloured orb that cast a warm, milky glow of light all around the room. The small room was cluttered with shelves and cupboards, several of the roughly hewn stone shelves were stuffed with dusty old, thick leather-bound books, and the ones that remained held multiple, squiggly-shaped jars filled with all sorts of different powders, liquids, or small insects suspended in gel. The one tiny table was in the centre of the room, two chairs were laced at either end, and the orb was stationed in the middle. Adaen shivered slightly, 'It's like he was expecting me' she thought.  
  
Still struggling to banish the thoughts that bounced around in her head, Adaen stepped further into the room. Looking around at her surroundings, Adaen turned, and spotted a small cage. As she got closer, she saw that it housed a small, trembling Snowbunny. The Snowbunny was crouched in a pile of sawdust, and wood shavings, a wilting leaf of lettuce and the crust from a piece of rye bread sat beside it, and a poorly made bowl of water had leaked all over the bedding, soaking it and making dirty puddles in the holes that the Snowbunny had messed in. Adaen's heart went out to the poor Snowbunny right there. She had always had a soft spot for Snowbunnies, even though she insisted that petpets were too much of a responsibility when she was out on the trail, which she was most of the time. She didn't have enough money to buy a neohome, and what was she to feed a petpet, when she scarcely ate herself.  
  
The JubJub seemed to sense this and smiled, "come on now," he cried, swinging his staff around wildly, "we can't just stand here yattering, come, sit, have a bite to eat and something to drink, you must be famished, tired too. You had a long trip." Adaen smiled hesitantly back and followed him over to the table, the JubJub asked her to please have a seat, and then he began bustling around, opening various cupboards and drawers, pulling things out and placing them on the counter-top. Finally he poured some things into a bowl and stirred it around with a long- handled wooden spoon, then he transferred the contents of the bowl into a pot that was dangling over a small fire and set to work rummaging through cupboards again until he found whatever he was looking for. When he finally finished making dinner he brought it over to the table, and sat down himself, leaning his staff in easy reach against his chair. "Eat up," he said happily, gesturing at the food in front of them, there is way too much for just me.  
  
Adaen reached out and seized a spoon, then she began to load food onto her plate, the JubJub was right, there was lots of it. There was fresh flat bread, a thick stew that contained various herbs and spices, barley, kidney beans, assorted vegetables, chunks of tender meat, and a rich broth. Then there were some cooked mountain tubers, and a small bowl of vinegary dipping sauce for the bread. After Adaen had loaded her plate with the delicious food she snuck a few vegetables and fed them to the Snowbunny. Yawning, Adaen stood up and stretched, she opened her mouth to thank the JubJub, but he interrupted her, "come," he said, "you look exhausted, I will show you to your room."  
  
"But..." Adaen began  
  
"No buts," the JubJub insisted, "come, now" he added when Adaen hesitated, "you need a good nights sleep. Adaen bit her lower lip, thinking, could she really trust this old JubJub, or should she refuse his offer? 


End file.
